“Now is the hour of love!”
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us…full of grace and truth.”
What if the world’s peace and flourishing began not with grand gestures, but a humble yes?
Grace is that yes. It is God’s love, freely given, undeserved, unmeasured, and without conditions. It is offered to everyone. When we receive it, something begins to change within us, reshaping our actions, our capacity to love, and how we engage with the world.
Grace, like love, is always a gift. Once accepted, it overflows from our hearts and radiates outward, moving us to share God’s love with others. Grace is not abstract or distant; it is the living presence of God in the ordinary: a word of encouragement, listening with patience, a hand extended in peace. In these small acts, God’s love moves through us, shaping us into instruments of grace.
Mary shows us what this looks like. When the angel greets her: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28), her yes was not timid or passive. It was bold and courageous. Her trust let God’s love shape her life, her choices, her relationships, and her very being. That yes changed everything.
So what about us? What does saying yes look like today?
We live in a world that longs for peace and understanding, where fear and division can often overshadow hope. Yet grace shows us another way. It invites us to be bridge-builders where there are walls, to show understanding where there is judgement, and to choose love even when it feels easier to walk away. Grace is God’s love in action: listening deeply, serving humbly, washing feet, kneeling in honour of the dignity of others, and rising with the conviction to stand for those who are powerless.
The challenge stands before us:
What kind of community are we becoming?
Are we willing to love beyond comfort, to forgive beyond fairness, to serve without counting the cost?
Who will we walk with, and what will we stand for?
Today, the question is simple and profound: Will our yes be bold? Will it be courageous?
This is not easy work, but it is holy work; the work that feeds our hearts and souls. Abbot Jamison captures its power beautifully:
“Grace is God’s way of restoring our trust in the goodness of life. The relationship between goodness and grace can perhaps be understood by analogy with food. If food is nourishing, then it’s considered to be full of goodness. Similarly, grace is a goodness that nourishes the soul; it feeds the good in us so that we can trust each other and flourish together.”
Through grace, our yes becomes nourishment, not only for ourselves, but for the world.
At his inauguration Mass, Pope Leo XIV reminded us:
“Now is the hour of love. The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. We are called to offer God’s love to everyone…”
He went on to stress:
“Our world, wounded by war, violence and injustice, needs to hear the Gospel message of God’s love and to experience the reconciling power of Christ’s grace.”
Let us be that message. Be that grace. Now is the hour. Transform the world with God’s love.
Tony Clarke
Director, Marist Mission and Life Formation Team